View Full Version : Horseshoe crab?
PuppyFluffer
02-17-2009, 8:54 PM
I know nothing about marine fishkeeping but was in a PetCo store the other day and watched a guy buy a horseshoe crab. I asked him how he was going to house it as they got really big. He said they didn't get that big. I looked at the label on the tank and it said 20 inches....at which point I held my hands about 20 inches apart. He sort of laughed and said he'd take it to the ocean when it got big. I then asked if it was legal to release a captive raised aquatic animal into the ocean at which point he said he was only kidding. He went ahead and bought it. He has a 60 gallon tank.
I didn't know you could get horseshoe crabs for the home aquarium. It was about $7.50.
Anyone know anything about them?
kidbookrev
02-17-2009, 9:06 PM
Only one comment: If PetCo says it will get 20 inches, it'll probably get to 40.
Amphiprion
02-17-2009, 9:14 PM
Actually, they do get close to 40", but you'll never see one like that in an aquarium, primarily because they rarely, if ever, live. They primarily feast on the infauna that lives in your sand bed and will deplete one very quickly, which causes operational problems with the bed itself (i.e. it has lost much of its capacity for waste processing).
A horseshoe crab would be cool.
But never trust PetCo or PetSmart.
cam191919
02-17-2009, 9:32 PM
not to mention there not even crabs, more related to ticks and mites :crazy:
Amphiprion
02-17-2009, 9:36 PM
^^Yup. A quick google search on the Merostomata will yield very fascinating results :).
reefplayground
02-18-2009, 4:12 PM
I have several in some of our systems. All are in aquariums over 200g. They get large and need roaming space.
chazsgirl
02-18-2009, 8:20 PM
I need to go marine...
I so agree, I saw little babies in a bucket at mu LFS and they were so cute, they were about quarter sz! But imagine the ones u see at the shore, no way do I want something that big! it's ashame there aren't dwarf ones!
melissadotson
03-29-2010, 5:46 PM
i have 2 small ones in my tank..1 i have had for about 6 months the other one only about 3 months ..they are cool. mine only come out in the morning and then they go back under the sand..
ChunkyMonkey
03-30-2010, 11:27 PM
Yeah, I definitely don't trust Petco or Petsmart as I even saw a label for a Bala Shark only needing a tank of 20gallons and grew to only 5 inches. I had some twice that size. I hate those stores. I did once buy some ghost shrimp as a treat for some of my fish once....I loved how pissed off they got when I said their fate after paying for them.